I've Got 3 Words for You....

I'm so sorry!
Well, those aren't the words I was talking about, but they are oh-so-true!
 I've been away from my blog for far too long....forgive me....pretty please :)

You see, it was Maggie's 7th Birthday last week and we had 2 parties for her over the past 2 Saturdays....one for family...and one for just school friends.  I've been cleaning, planning, cooking, decorating and basically in Party Mode for 2 weeks straight.  I can't wait to get all the photos up here to show you, but that will be another post.

So, now that I'm officially "free", I've resumed my regularly scheduled activities! That means going to the gym. Boo! But also, painting! Yay!

I rescued a whole deck of these adorable flashcards from the trash a while back.

 

I started by gessoing them and adhering some paper to them.

 

 

Then I used my new favorite technique of scribbling on watercolor pencils....

 

 

....and gessoing again over it.

 

 

Then came some stamping.  I have a new "screen" background stamp that I tried here for the first time :)

 

 

Here's where the steps weren't documented so well....haha!  You know how it goes, you start getting to the heart of the painting and it's hard to remember to stop and snap a photo :)

 

 

I nearly finished one before I remembered to stop.

 

I tried something different for me.  I sketched out the faces in watercolor pencil which I later used to add the shading to the face.

 

 

Here they are all finished....complete with touches of glitter....because who doesn't love glitter?!

 

 

The 3 words I have for you are......"Gratitude"

 

 

"Stillness"

 

 

...and "Simplicity"

 

 

Gentle reminders for good vibes :)

All in the shop.

 

I hope my Stateside friends had an awesome Mother's Day yesterday....and that all my friends had wonderful weekends!  I'll be back with party pics soon.

 

Here's a sneak peek ;P

 

 

 

I'll be going now...but just 3 more words before I do.....

Thanks for visiting!!!

 

...okay, and maybe 3 more...

Love you guys!

 

Cam

Looking Sharp-ie

Do you get ideas stuck in your head that you just can't shake?
Ideas that make perfect sense....in theory?

Well, I had purchased some iron-on transfer paper a while ago thinking that I would make tote bags with transfers of my art on them....

Turns out the ironing process, the thickness of the canvas and my patience level weren't a good combination for this project.
So, I thought I'd paint the bags instead.....
sort of like this.....

 

Sorry for all the random pen marks on this sketch. 

The concept was to paint different Dia de los Muertos inspired girls and attach a jersey flower pin to the side of her hair that could be removed to wear on other items. 

 

Like this....

 

 

 The other side would have a pocket sewn on in a matching jersey fabric.

 

 

There were several complications to this idea.  First, she took forever to paint!  Acrylic needs to be watered down quite a bit to flow over the toothy canvas, which meant lots and lots of layers to get brighter colors and full coverage.  I didn't want to ask a lot for these bags....and at this rate, they wouldn't be worth the time I was putting in :(

 

 

The second complication occurred after I gently washed the bag to test for durability and shrinkage.  I expected some....but not only did it shrink, it wrinkled very badly!  I have attempted to iron it 3 different times with underwhelming results.  The painting held up well, though....haha!

 

Here's the size difference after washing.

 

 

So I switched gears and decided to use permanent ink instead....it was definitely faster.

Sharpies are very durable and come in all kinds of great colors.

 

 

I would simply recommend spot cleaning these totes, no biggie...

 

 

Unfortunately, I should've tested the "permanent metallic ink" (not Sharpie brand) pens I've been using on my rocks on this fabric.  It seems they bleed when wet...sheesh!

So, no spot cleaning either....haha!

 

Clever fox Loves the Earth :)

 

 

So, I've got some cute totes available in the shop right now....

 

 

They will happily serve you as long as you follow an important rule (remember that 80's movie "Gremlins"?)

Don't get them wet!

.....but feeding after midnight is perfectly acceptable ;P

 

I also did a few more rocks over the weekend.

 

 

It might be time to switch over to familiar territory again...some safe hair clips or zombie plushies or something....haha!

 

What projects have you tried that didn't quite turn out as expected?

 

All my best,

Cam

Someone's Getting Stoned!

Is it you?!

Don't worry, no broken bones or midnight munchies happening here....simply the Winners of my little painted stone Giveaway :)

 

By the way, I had a Wonderful Birthday everyone! I spent the day at the Spa where I had a facial and a pedicure, I did some yoga and took myself to lunch, then found these waiting for me when I came home....

 

...and this...

 

A succulent garden made by my dear daughter, complete with plastic lizard :)

Then they took me out to a delicious dinner.  Turning 40 is not so bad...haha!

 

Thank you so much to all of you for the warm wishes for my big day! :)

 

Okay, back to getting stoned.  We had 12 lovely entries...and, I must apologize, but for the first time ever I used random.org to choose my numbers for me.

 

The first Winner is # 9!  That's the lovely Carmen Wing! Hooray!  She said she liked the little deer, so that's the one she'll get.

 

The 2nd Winner is #7!  That's the fabulous Theresa MacNaughton! WooHoo!  She'll get the butterfly!

 

I'll get in touch with you ladies to let you know when I mail off your packages!

 

I've been having so much fun painting stones lately.  I made 4 more for the shop.

 

 

Have you ever tried this?  It is addicting....heehee :)

 

Until later, Dear Friends,

Cam

 

 

Jumping Jellyfish, Batman!

Hello again Dear Ones!

Sorry, this post has absolutely nothing to do with Batman.
I just couldn't help myself....haha!

I'm doing 2 posts in one day!  Unheard of around here!
I thought it would be a good idea to keep this show and tell separate from the Giveaway below, but I just couldn't wait til later in the week to post again.  I just don't have that kind of patience when I have new art to share....haha!

This is "She Dreamed"

5 x 7 inch mixed media on canvas

 

I just love hunting through old books and finding just the right words to put together.  I've used this saying before.  Of course, I'm a big fan of dreaming.....and consider it lucky when I can find the word in the text :)

 

 

The eyes of an art piece are always what speak to me most.....I think hers are filled with lovely thoughts.  What do you think she is dreaming of?

 

 

She and her jellyfriends are currently in the shop :)

 

I'm keeping this post short and sweet....

Hope you have an amazing week ahead, and please don't forget to visit the post below for a Giveaway, if you haven't done so already.

 

Gotta jump in my Batmobile and run to the store now....

Hugs all around!

Cam

My Birthday Rocks - a Giveaway!

Hello my most lovely Bloggy Friends!

Spring Break is officially over today for us. Maggie's back at school and I'm trying to get caught up on all the things I've let slide over the past 2 weeks. I have plans this weekend, you see.

My birthday is this Sunday, the 14th....I turn the BIG 4-0!
....and you know what?
I'm really looking forward to it! 

I'm dreaming of sneaking out of the house early whilst my 2 Sweeties still sleep.  I want to go to yoga, get a massage, take myself to a little café for a yummy lunch, then go to Barnes and Noble and peruse all my favorite arty magazines with a coffee in hand and, maybe, treat myself to one (which I never do).
I'll then go home and snuggle with my family on the couch while we watch a movie of my choice....then we'll have a nice meal and go get ice cream afterwards.
That's my plan anyway.

I'll let you know what really happens...haha! ;P

 

 

How do you like these rocks?  They were a little difficult to photograph because they were made with metallic ink pens.  They were oh so fun to make! 

We collected these stones on the beach here in Southern California....naturally tumbled by the sea.

Would you like to win one?

 

I love that I get to celebrate my Birthday with all of you in this awesome art blogging community.  Sharing here over the years has given me so much....I'd like to just offer a little bit in return.

I'm thrilled to give away both of these stones to 2 of you wonderful Friends....plus, I'll throw in some other fun goodies into the package, too :)

 

Please just leave a comment here and I'll pick 2 winners out of a hat on Monday, April 15th. If you have a preference as to which one you'd like if you win, feel free to share!

 

 

Thank you so much for the support, input, inspiration and laughter over the years! :D

Much love to you,

Cam

Tuesdays with Maggie

Maggie has been home for Spring Break, so I've been trying to alter my weekly routine to include her in them.  This way, I still try to stay on task and we can do something together. Of course, it takes a bit longer....haha!

Tuesdays are my designated art day.

I made some room at my table and we worked side by side.
We started with 2 sheets of 9 x 12 inch white Bristol Board.  We chose patterned papers to tear and adhere to them.

 

Here they are all covered.  Mine is on the left.  Hers on the right.

 

 

We then took some watercolor pencils and scribbled them on in different spots.  We applied gesso to the surface to pick up the color and tone down the papers.

 

 

Then it was time for paint and stamping....

Here, Maggie is rubbing the stamp pad directly onto her surface.

 

 

They looked like this after that layer.

 

 

Now we were ready for our main images and inspirational quotes.

Maggie wrote her own :)

 

 

"Enjoy wildlife,

Be friendly,

live life.

Enjoy!"

 

Then she chose this image to put on her piece.

 

 

Her finished art :)

 

 

I still hadn't decided what I wanted to do with mine when she proclaimed she was done and went to play.   

She compares herself to me sometimes and feels badly that she can't draw or paint like I do.  I tell her it's taken me years and years of practicing and doing art regularly to be where I am today....and I'm still learning and improving...and that she will, too.  So, I was planning on keeping things loose and simplistic, so we could both do similar styles, when we began.

 

 

But since she was done...well, I could let loose....haha!

So I began to see a face in my background.

 

 

I sketched her out in white pencil and began applying washes of thinned acrylic paint.

Those are the 3 colors to the left there that I usually use for my fleshtones.

Americana Brand - Light Buttermilk, Fleshtone and Light Cinnamon.

 

 

I apologize for not having more in-between stages, but I started working quickly once I figured out what I wanted to paint.  I chose a Rumi quote to feature "Unfold your own Myth"

 

 

Above are her finished eyes....

 

...and below, the finished piece.

 

 

All those layers paid off, I think. It gives the background such a lush look.

She has the quotes "Reveal the greatest version of you" and "The possibilities of one human soul will never be found in another" written on her, also.

Click to enlarge if you like :)

 

 

 

She has a neat Renaissance feel to her. 

She is listed  in the shop, fyi. 

 

Love that Maggie and I both made art this week.

 

I also received some awesome art from my friend, Micki Wilde aka The Secret Hermit

 

 

 

Isn't she adorable?!

And look at that yummy texture!

 

 

Thank you, Dear Micki!

Please visit her shop to see more of her whimsical girls :)

 

I'll be by to visit before the big weekend festivities!

Don't overdo the chocolate....or, instead, do indulge, but hide all the evidence....heehee!

 

Reveal your gifts to the world, beautiful creative kindreds!

Cam

Peculiar Paige

After I created "Creepy Crawley Clare" some time ago, I got an idea to have girls posing with all sorts of gruesome beasties.....

Clare walked into the woods they say,
And didn’t come out for 21 days.

Her complexion had changed
From peach to gray.
Her hair was tangled and smelled of decay.

She whispered to spiders and giggled with slugs
Her entire body was crawling with bugs.

Other folks might’ve thought her deranged,
But the town already considered her strange

Sounded like a perfectly easy plan....but as I started thinking about each girl...their stories started unfolding.  These began to include strange tendencies and twisted endings....odd behavior and disturbing details...

Paige is the scrapped canvas I began and covered up last week.  I was working on a 5 x 7 inch canvas last week and just couldn't fit in everything I was envisioning.  Here she is in a larger 8 x 10 format.

...and I am so much happier with the outcome :)
Hope you enjoy her, too.

The peculiar habit of Paige is
locking things up in cages.
Her creatures are cherished,
even after they've perished.
Her parents swear it's just one of those phases.

 

 

I have 2 other poems written out for 2 other odd personalities :)

 

 

Until those take form, Clare and Paige are in the shop waiting for a brave soul to adopt them ;P

 

Hope you are having a wonderful week!  Maggie starts 2 whole weeks of Spring Break next week....so we'll see how much creating I actually get done....haha!

 

All my eerie best,

CAm